Description

A complete remake of the classic 1986 title Defender of the Crown (not to be confused with the "Remastered" Windows version released in 2002), in Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown the player plays as the legendary folk outlaw in his quest to reclaim the throne of England after Richard Lionheart was captured in the crusades and his brother, John Lackland, usurped the throne and left him for dead in the Holy Land, attracting the ire of several knights. In a heated argument, he considered them to be traitors, causing a civil war to start.

Several gameplay features were changed from the classic title such as the player being Robin Hood himself (instead of picking one of four pretenders), full 3D graphics, a plot included with the game and the goal being to be the first to reach and conquer King John's stronghold in Cornwall. To do so, the player must build an army large enough to hold enough shires, which generate money from taxes. This money can then be used to hire new troops (peasants, archers, footmen and the mighty knights and catapults) or pay King Richard's ransom, which allow to enlist loyalist knights.

As with the original game, action occurs in a turn-based map of England where the player decides which actions to take: conquer a neighbouring shire with Little John's army and hire soldiers either for him or territory defense, raid a castle or caravan, build strongholds, hold tournaments or spy on the other lords using Maid Marian's contacts on the court. Each of the attacking actions bring a quick minigame to be played:

The first mini-game that appears is the archery raid; in this mode, the player sees the action directly from Robin Hood's eyes while he lurks on a tree, the goal being to use Robin's trustworthy bow and arrow to hit cavalry guards and the convoy as they pass by his spot. As some guards are also armed with a bow, Robin can also hide behind the log for cover.

If the player attacks a guarded territory, the game enters a strategic mode where the battle takes place on a three-lane field, and the goal is to vanquish the enemy defenses of force him to flee by launching direct attacks on each lane.

Sword fighting pits the player against one or more opponents, depending on the setting. The goal is simple: slash everyone by throwing blows and dodge/parry the opponents' own. During raids there is also a timer that represents the time before sunrise - failing to escape before that or being killed results on Robin's imprisonment.

Battles are done on a real-time fashion, where both armies are placed on the far-sides of a multi-lane battlefield. The player chooses which lane to attack (or defend) and if successful, the opponent will lose enough units to flee or simply wait for their deaths.

Jousting in a tournament allows the player to fight for fame, and then for gold and land. To do so, after picking an opponent, he starts by building enough speed, and then slam the spear into the opponent, the goal being to knock him from his horse.

Some shires are protected by castles, and to conquer them, first a siege must be laid in. This requires the player to load up on catapults and then destroy each wall of the fortification by throwing boulders at it. Each wall represents a part of the defending army: the most damage done, the easier it becomes to invade it.